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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Pianist Rueibin Chen's upcoming performance of the famous "Yellow River Concerto" in Tianjin, China on December 11 (Friday).

As a follow-up to his sold-out performance of the "Yellow River Concerto" in Hong Kong on 11/28, world renowed pianist Rueibin Chen will be performing with the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra at Zhonghua Theatre in Tianjin, China on 12/11.

Performers:

Soloist Rueibin Chenand the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra

Conductor:Yi Juanzi

Programme:
The Golden Night - Famous Chinese and Western classical music repertoire
The Yellow River Concerto

Monday, November 16, 2009

Master Pianist Rueibin Chen's performance with National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra on 21 November, 2009 and 22 November, 2009, in Taichung county and Chiayi county seperately, was a great sucess. The audience those who attended the concert had a wonderful time and appreciated Rueibin Chen's music indeed. "Rueibin's Rachmaninoff is Amazing!" an audience praised after listening to Rueibin Chen's piano solo.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Master Pianist Rueibin Chen'sperformance in Hong Kong on 28 November 2009 was not only successful, but also unforgettable.He is the first pianist born in Taiwan who is invited to present the tremedous Piano Concerto "The Yellow River" on public. He played Yellow River Concerto in full confidence. The great honour and wonderful performance has made history. The tickets of the concert were all sold out.

Details for Piano SoloChen Rueibin, a Chinese-Austrian born in Taiwan, continued his study under the legendary Lazar Berman. Chen has won medals in various international piano competitions. The recipient of many prizes, Chen was awarded the "Bösendorfer" prize in Vienna and was chosen by the Minister of Culture in Taiwan as the "Best Young Artist". Chen won the "Best Prize for Contributions to Music" at Salzburg International Music Festival and the "Albert Roussel Prize" in Paris . He was awarded the "Taiwan Millennium Best Artistic Performance Award" in 2000, the "Golden Melody Awards" for "Best Performance" and for "Best Album", and the "Character of Highest Potential" in Taiwan. Chen was also honoured by the County Supervisor of Greater Los Angeles County for promoting diplomacy between the United States and Taiwan through music with his solo recital.

Chen was named the Principal Soloist of "Moldova" Iasi and Tirgu Mures Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania.

Chen's musicianship has been highly praised by many renowned musicians and critics. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was very impressed with his astonishing technique. Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha described his playing as "magnificent" and "full of promise." After his performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Sonata No.2 in a piano competition, he received tremendous accolades from former New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg, who wrote that Chen's interpretation was the best he had heard by a young artist for a long time.

He has given master classes in musical strongholds and also served as a jury member in international piano competitions in Switzerland.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Palo Alto Philharmonic will present "A Tribute to Great Russian Composers" tonight at 8 p.m. at Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. The concert will showcase acclaimed pianist Rueibin Chen, who will perform Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor." Camilla Kolchinsky will be the guest conduct for this piece. The program will also include the "Lieutenant Kij?Suite" by Prokofiev and the "Swan Lake Suite" by Tchaikovsky, both of which will be conducted by Assistant Conductor Lee Actor. Tickets are $12 general, $10 seniors, $5 students if bought on the website (www.paphil.org) before 5 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are $14 general; $12 seniors; $7 students at the door on the evening of the performance. For more information please visit www.paphil.org or call (650) 857-0737.

LOS ANGELES - Master pianist Rueibin Chen is returning to Los Angeles for a recital debut on Friday evening, July 7 at the new Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Chen, a Chinese–Austrian born in Taiwan, is an internationally renowned pianist with a reputation for technical brilliance and the ability to combine intense energy with his refined sense of touch to rank him among the best in creative and artistic expression.

The Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung called him "one of those geniuses that come along once in twenty years."

A child prodigy, Chen received his first piano lessons at age 5 from his father, and at 10, he was invited to perform with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra.

He has won eighteen medals including five gold medals in various international piano competitions,

His playing has a surreal quality evoked by a seemingly effortless execution. There is no hint of artificiality, no hint of anything overlooked in his preparation, just a sense that here is a true virtuoso. He has the ability to become one with the essence and intent of the original composition.

Chen was a pupil of the legendary Lazar Berman of Russia who died early last year. Berman was known for his thunderous technique and thrilling interpretation of Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Considering that Chen exhibits the same powerful but controlled qualities--the string of brilliance continues unabated.

In addition, Chen is also known for his lucidity, i.e., his unique ability to make each note lucid and pure.

Chen recently conducted Master Classes in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas to share his knowledge with local students that included pianists at the top of their field.

Mr. Chen answered a series of questions posed by The Epoch Times:

ET: You were able to help the students during your Master Classes, even though many were already advanced in their piano playing skills. Could you please describe your experiences in helping the students?

RC: There is a difference of method that I use in teaching students of different levels. During the Master Classes that I teach, with advanced students for example, I would use different metaphors--I need to work harder on inspiring their imagination; they need to imagine the scenario of the works, to feel its tone, its color. Composers of advanced works ask for deeper understanding of their music, of the nuances and sophistication that simpler pieces do not request.

Metaphors and analogies are not necessary for lower-level students. Also, in terms of techniques, students of advanced levels need more refined instructions that target their specific needs.

ET: What Master pianists did you learn from and who inspired you to play better?

RC: One of the three teachers I learned longest from was Lazar Berman, the legendary Russian pianist. I was his only Asian student. I almost became a student with another legendary Russian pianist, Sviatoslav Richter. He was kind of too old when I met him and was not able to teach very much.

I feel that what I learned from those great teachers were not piano playing per se, but what is beyond piano. Their life stories are my source of inspirations. Both Richter and Berman endured great pain and hardship in their lives, yet their passion for music persisted and helped them through. That was what made their music special, and touching, at least to me. Some audiences have no clue why their music was so special. That was why.

Lazar Berman was forbidden from playing outside of the then Communist Russia. It was only when he reached his fifties that he was able to get on stage in the United States. It was not fame or money that they were after; but art, and only art. Without such motivation, the art is not pure and the artist is not pure, either. An artist who pursues things other than art is nothing but a label, a hypocrite.

But I know that to be like those great pianists, under the current circumstance, is becoming more and more impossible, with the commercialization and everything. Sometimes I have to capitulate to the commercial pressure and I do hope that I could be pure at other times. Otherwise I would be valueless, with no hope of surpassing those deceased, great masters.I have to admit that there is no living artist today that I can admire, because they fall short of the high standards left by the forefathers.

Historically speaking, time will be the test to what can stay permanent. Artists of modern times are too busy and always in the predicament of the ideal and the reality; which may not be known by the average audience who love to follow the current trend.

ET: Is there one particular piece that resonates with you; a piece that you feel at one with?RC: One piece I would like to point out, which is also a piece that I will play for the July concert [Disney Concert Hall and San Diego], is Beethoven's Appasionata.

"Impressive" and "striking" is the word that audiences use in describing their feelings as they listen to this piece. One musician told me that my rendering is the fastest of all the recordings he had ever heard.

As I play, I am not playing the notes, or the keys. Beethoven composed this piece after reading Shakespeare's Tempest. I tried to place myself in the scene of the tempest, imagining myself actually in it, to a degree that the piano keys have disappeared.

Even when I use a lot of pedals, each note I play is lucid, its grain clear and lucid, even to the audience in the far back of the concert hall. Lucidity is what people regard as my uniqueness. One musician friend of mine recalled that once I told my students that they should let audience in the most remote corner hear every note clearly, even the most soft ones.

I don't think I am able to do that purely by techniques---techniques are not sufficient. The power is from an internal mental source. Whether it is the loudest notes or the softest, it should be clear, even to the audience sitting in the far back.

Intenationally renowned Chinese-Austian master pianist Rueibin Chen will showcase his remarkable talent in Australia during the New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) Gala 2006. Chen has played in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world: the Musikverein and konzerthaus in Vienna, the Opera de Monte Carlo, the Bolshoi Hall Moscow and his celebated home stage of National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Centre.

At the age of 10, Taiwanese-bon Chen became a symphony soloist as a concet pianist with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra in 1978.

Three years later his talent took him to Vienna, where he received a concert diploma and soloist's examination award in Hannover, Germany. He studied under Lazar Berman and Murray Perahis's master class. In 1994 he was appointed principal soloist of the "Moldova" Iasi and Tirgu Mures Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania.

Chen has won numerous prestigious awards, including international piano competitions in Vienna, Rome, Warsaw, Athens and Twl Aviv. He has performed at international festivals aound the wold with the finest of ochesta such as the Ukrainian State Symphony, the New Philharmonia Japan, Shanghai Symphony and London chambe Players. Chen is also well-respected fo his perfomance of chamber music and has perfomed with the Shanghai Quartet and lark Quartet.

In 1999 Chen became an Austian citizen, but continued to uphold artistic acclaim in his homeland. The previous year Taiwan's Ministy of Culture awaded Chen "Best Young Artist" which was followed with a mak of national reverence three years later when the then-president Lee Teng-hui invited Chen to perform at the Presidential Palace in a concert that was broadcast across Taiwan. In 2000 Chen was honoured with Taiwan's "Best Arts Performance" award.

Chen has lived in Hong Kong since 2002 as the Artist in Residence of Radio-Television Hong Kong. He is sponsored by various institutions such as the International Chopin Society.

Feel and understand the pieces you play. Only then can you allow you own emotions to guide you through the piece as if it is a part of you.-----Rueibin Chen

Interview Story:

Music has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. A successful pianist now Rueibin Chen tells of how talent was not the only thing involved in his stuggle to become what he is today.

"My father was a piano teacher at a primary school in Taiwan, and as a result, he started teaching me the piano when I was five," said Ruei, who was here recently fo a piano recital.

"Once I picked up the basics, I enjoyed playing the piano so much that I learnt it much faster than everyone else."

"However, I didn't really take it seriously until my father thought it would be a good idea fo me to compete with a few hundred other children to study music overseas," he recalled.

Ruei was 13 when he managed to obtain a place in a prestigious school in Vienna, Austria. Unoftunately it didn't come with a scholarship.

Overseas education is a very serious matter in Taiwan as anyone who wishes to go for it has to obtain a permit of approval form the government, said Ruei.

"This prompts annual " competitions" among many school children for places in overseas schools.

"Although everyone was happy for me when I won the competition, it was difficult fo my parents to support my overseas education since my father was only a school teacher," said Ruei.

Financial difficulty did not stop Ruei and his father sought help from the private sector.

Leaving fo Vienna with an uncle who could speak Geman, Ruei again competed with hundreds of other children- this time for the sole scholarship for the best student.

Being in a foreign country and unable to understand the language would probably have been daunting fo any other 13-yea-old.

Ruei, however, gave his best perfomance and won the scholarship.

"The scholarship was only a temporary one though, but it was still bette than nothing," said Ruei.

The temporary scholarship wasn't the last barrier that Ruei had to face.

"Competing for the scholarship might have been tough, but studying there was much harder."

"It wasn't the practical classes though, since music is an international language. I faced difficulty when the theory classes came since Geman is not an internatinoal language," he explained jokingly.

"Thankfully, I had an uncle who could speak German. It was quite difficult learning both the language and music at the same time," said ruei.

"Also, because of my inability to speak Geman then, friends were hard to come by," which was a cause of some distress fo Ruei.

His uncle stayed a year with him and then he had to retun to Taiwan. Ruei had to learn to be independent after this.

He only retuned to spend the new year with his family.

However, Ruei's pursuit of his musical career prevented hime from going back on his third year as he went on several international piano competitions.This continued for the next six years.

His performances in the international arena gave him much exposure and the experience futher enhanced his ability to play wondeful renditions of classical masterpieces, sometimes receiving accolades form his peers.

Knowing what he wanted and having the will to carry out his dreams gave him the edge he needed, said Ruei.

He has also managed to earn a living from his concert performances.

Taking a break from his own life story, Ruei took the opportunity to talk about his family.

"The dream did not stop with me as my brother and sister ae also musicians," Ruei said proudly of his brother, who is known as the best cello teacher in Taiwan and his sister, who has just finished her studies and won the first prize in a piano competion in the United States.

"I also return to Taiwan annually for concerts, which my mother and father never fail to support," he added.

Giving an insight into his own success Ruei advises would be pianists "feel and understand the pieces you play. Only then can you allow you own emotions to guide you through the peice as if it is a part of you."

Dated: SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005News Title:Rueibin Chen and EI Camirio Youth SymphonyRedwood City and San Jose

Interview Story:

Rueibin Chen is a virtuoso pianist, a Taiwanese-Austrian winner of a string of international competitions. Luckily for us, he enjoys playing in Silicon Valley, where he has found an enthusiastic audience. This weekend, Chen performs with the hardworking young players of the-El Camino Youth Symphony. He'll play Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in these benefit concerts for the orchestra. The program also includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Bernstein's "Overture to Candide." DETAILS: 7:30 tonight, Messiah Lutheran Church, 1835 VaIota Road, Redwood City, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, San Jose Civic Auditorium, 145 W. San Carlos St, San Jose; $20-$30; www.ecys.org,(650)327-2611

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Acclaimed pianist Rueibin Chen returns home for a series of three concerts.PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSICPOWERNot many 10-year-olds tickle the ivories as symphony soloists, so after Tainan-born Rueibin Chen (陳瑞斌) did so in 1978 with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, big things were expected of him.

At 13, Chen moved to Vienna, obtaining a concert diploma and a subsequent soloist's examination award in Hanover, Germany, before going on to take master classes under Murray Perahia. He has since collected a mantle of highly prized awards, including Vienna's Boesendorfer Prize in 1983, Paris' Albert Roussel Prize in 1991 and Taiwan's own "best arts performance" prize in 2000.

That was the last time Chen played in Taiwan and he's making a welcome return in a series of three concerts starting in Taipei tomorrow, Nov. 9, then moving to Taichung on Friday, Nov. 11 and returning home to Tainan on Friday, Nov. 15.

"The pressure playing in Tainan is intense compared with Taipei," Chen said in a telephone interview at the end of a full day of rehearsing. "The audiences there are more conservative, more accustomed to traditional Taiwanese entertainment than they are to classical music."Besides, my parents are there," he added laughing. "That makes it really intense."

To hear Chen admit stage freight seems unusual for a musician of his caliber. Since his European debut in 1984 at the Vienna Koncerthaus, he has performed non-stop at one festival after another: the International Salzburg Music Festival, the Vienna Spring Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Hong Kong Festival, the International Rachmaninoff Music Festival in Moscow and the Taipei Music Festival, where he performed for the first time Rachmaninoff's complete concertos.

In 1989 he was selected "best young artist" by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. Three years later, he was asked by then president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to play at the Presidential Palace in a festival concert that was broadcast across the nation. He's won international piano competitions in Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Athens, Vienna, Rome and even played for former Israeli president Itzhak Rabin.

"2000 was the last time I played as a soloist in Taiwan," Chen said."Before then, I had the honor of accompanying the Taipei Symphony Orchestra as piano soloist on their 1998 tour of Asia."

Chamber music is another area in which Chen excels. He has performed with well-known groups like the Shanghai Quartet and Lark Quartet. So can Taiwan audiences expect a song or two at any of his concerts? "No, no, no," he says. "No singing. Strictly piano."Rueibin Chen plays the Taipei National Concert Hall (台北國家音樂廳) tomorrow night at 7:45pm. Performances at Taichung's Chungshan Hall (台中中山堂) and the Tainan City Arts Center (台南市立藝樹中心) both begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are available online at http://www.ticket.com.tw or by calling the venues; Taipei (02) 2341-9898, Taichung (04) 2292-5321, Tainan (06) 214-9441.

Supported by the third Sub-district of Rotary International District 3480,internationally-renowned Taiwanese pianist Rueibin Chen will perform aAccording to the organizers, Capriccio Chamber Orchestra, the concert isdedicated to benefit the Chinese Association of Sufferers from Spinocerebellar ataxia, SCA. Accompanied by violinist Tiffany Wu and Russian cellist Victor Shpiller, the concert will feature classical works by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

Chen, a Chinese-Austrian born in Taiwan, started his career as a concert pianist at age of ten when he made his debut with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. At age of 13, he was chosen b the government from a national talent search and sent to Vienna, Austria for advanced study. The pianist has won eighteen medals including five gold medals in various international piano competitions in Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Salt Lake City, Athens, Manresa and Italy. As Taiwan’s “Best Young Artist” named in 1989, he was also awarded the “Taiwan Millennium Best Artistic Performance Award” in 2000, the “Outstanding Youth Representatives of the Republic of China” in 2004, the “Golden Melody Awards” for “Best Performance” and for “Best Collection” in 2004, and the “Character of Highest Potential” in Taiwan in 2005.

In 2007, Los Angeles county supervisor, Michael D. Antonovich, greeted Rueibin Chen and awarded him an appreciation certificate which had “Internationally renowned pianist exceptionally good reputation for stupendous technical brilliance, immense energy and intensity, and creative and artistic expression” on behalf of about the 10.3 million people who lived in the 88 cities of Greater Los Angeles Area to convey “the bridge of the friendship、understanding、trade and tourism prosper between our two nations”.

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The COMPASS Group, October 2006Artist: Rueibin ChenTitle: The Dream of CinemaLabel: Jingo

I can still remember movie soundtracks that touched many people's hearts. While the visual film images have faded, the melodies still remain in my mind. Born in the 1970s, I probably have not seen more than half of the movies whose soundtracks are included on this CD. Nevertheless, the tunes all sound so familiar to me. All the notes seem to express the films' dialogues in a way that can't be put down in words. Eight selected works from seven movie soundtracks will put you in different moods; some are soft and tender, while others are light and lively. For example, "The Crave" from the movie "The Legend of 1900" delivers jazz in its fullest. "On a Theme of Paganini" from "Somewhere in Time" absolutely connects you to the concept of love beyond time and space. What's more, the album, recorded in a 24-track format, results from cooperation between the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and renowned pianist Rueibin Chen. Listen to this CD with your eyes closed and experience the feeling of having an orchestra play right in front of you.

Pianist Rueibin Chen

A Chinese-Austrian born in Taiwan, Chen has won a total of eighteen medals, five of them gold, in various international piano competitions in Tel Aviv (Rubinstein), in Warsaw (Chopin) ,Salt Lake City (Bachauer), Athens (Callas), Vienna, Manresa, and Italy (Rome, Rachmaninov, Bellini, and Stresa).
Chen received his first piano lessons from his father when he was five. At the age of thirteen, he was selected by the Taiwanese government in a national talent search and was sent to Vienna, Austria, where he obtained a concert diploma from the Vienna Conservatory. Subsequently, he received a soloist's examination award from the Hannover Hochschule für Musik in Germany and then continued his study under the legendary Lazar Berman.